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Lu Jun, a Chinese activist for hepatitis B rights got off the airplane in Beijing returning from an international conference dealing with the issue he works to cure when he was arrested by the police who wanted to know why he had in his possession a red banner urging the government to address issues of hepatitis B. His web site already has been closed down as part of a government crackdown on any person or group they view as possibly interfering with the Olympic Games. “Everyone knows, ” said Jun, my arrest and closing of the web site was directly connected with the impending opening of the Olympics. Beggars are being rounded up, and petitioners who come to Beijing in hope of obtaining aid to deal with local issues are being sent back home in vans. Wang Lijun, tried coming to Beijing in order to help his father, a WWII veteran, to get pension assistance, but local officials told him not to go.

Sara David of Asia Catalyst, says activists are being warned to keep quiet and not to cause any problems during the Olympic Games. She also believes hotls are bing told not to rent rooms to people from Tibet or from Xinjiang province where Muslim separatists are creating problems. Dechen Pemba, a Tibetan who holds a British passport, was driven to the airport and sent back to the United Kingdom because she had too many Tibetan friends in China.

It is unfortunate that China has yet to realize nations of the world would be proud of the Chinese government if people were waving Tibetan or Hepatitis B banners.